Mark Parsons

Co-Investigator

Mark Parsons is a Professor of High Performance Computing (HPC) and Executive Director of the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC). He is also Associate Dean for e-Research at the University of Edinburgh. He has many interests in distributed computing, ranging from its industrial use to the provision of pan-European HPC services through the PRACE Research Infrastructure. His research interests include highly distributed data intensive computing and novel hardware design.

Mark Parsons graduated from The University of Dundee in 1989 with a BSc in Physics and Digital Microelectronics. Moving to The University of Edinburgh, he gained an MSc in IT: Parallel Systems Engineering and completed a PhD in Particle Physics in 1994, based on work undertaken on the LEP accelerator at CERN in Geneva.

Mark joined EPCC, the supercomputing centre at The University of Edinburgh, in 1994 as a software developer working on several industrial contracts before becoming the Centre's Commercial Manager in 1997, and subsequently Commercial Director. In 2001, EPCC successfully bid with The University of Glasgow to establish the UK National e-Science Centre in Edinburgh, and Mark also became Commercial Director of the NeSC during the decade of its operation.